Translated automatically by AI from the Italian original.
ROME / PALERMO – A breakthrough has been reached in the logistics and haulage dispute. The intense round of talks promoted at the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport (MIT) by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister Matteo Salvini has led to the awaited turning point: national trade unions and various independent groups – including the crucial Sicilian Hauliers’ Committee – left the meeting declaring themselves satisfied with the agreed points and announced the immediate withdrawal of the strike and lorry detention.
A decisive outcome that removes the risk of supply and agri-food chain paralysis, particularly critical for the island and for the maritime and motorway links in the Mezzogiorno.
The deal’s key points: fuel, compensation and border crossings
The package of commitments signed by Minister Salvini addresses most of the demands put forward by the sector:
- Reduction in diesel costs: activation of price-capping mechanisms and tax credits on fuel to mitigate business cost increases;
- Bureaucratic simplification and border crossings: targeted interventions and bilateral negotiations to overcome bottlenecks and quotas at Alpine border crossings;
- Marebonus and Ferrobonus: confirmation and renewed funding for incentives for maritime intermodality and connections with the major islands.
Dissenters’ doubts: “We want operational acts and decrees”
Despite the general climate of easing tensions and the gradual return of heavy goods vehicles to the road network, some grassroots committees and local representatives remain cautious.
Sceptical factions stress that ministerial assurances must now be translated into immediate implementing decrees and guaranteed allocations within the budget manoeuvre currently under discussion at the Sicilian Regional Assembly and in Parliament, ensuring that monitoring of progress on the measures remains tight.
